My father bought me a gun for my 21st birthday so I would be able to defend myself. I took a concealed handgun license course for the same reason. For most people, that’s the only reason.At its core, the decision to carry a gun is the result of mistrust.No one can be sure of a stranger’s intentions or mental stability. All anyone can be certain of is that getting a firearm in Texas is relatively quick and easy. When every stranger is a potential Ted Bundy, the desire to defend oneself is perfectly reasonable.All people want to be safe, instead of soul-crushingly sorry because they could have stopped a tragedy if they’d only been armed.A concealed weapon is a huge responsibility. Anyone who doesn’t recognize that needs to pick a wall to stare at and re-evaluate his or her life.There are a million laws saying exactly what a shooter can and cannot do. Even if no laws are broken, the family of the deceased can take the shooter to court. On top of that, the mental repercussions of killing a person, no matter how justified, are devastating and long lasting if not permanent. If that isn’t enough risk, there’s always the chance of shooting yourself while handling your own gun. 

Most gun owners understand these things. It’s people who don’t understand who terrify me. It’s people who think, for whatever reason, they can’t make mistakes that should never be allowed near a firearm. People who are too aggressive or go looking for confrontation make me sick. It’s people who secretly, or not so secretly, wish for that kind of violence who are terrifying because they’re completely out of touch with reality.

Unfortunately, there’s no “are you convinced you are actually Dirty Harry” question on the written test. In fact, it’s rare for anyone to fail the course.

Still, it’s a small price to pay for peace of mind. Now that I have my concealed firearm, I have nothing to worry about — nothing but everyone, everything and myself anyway.